His role is considered stressful but he is said to be "taking everything in his stride".

The source added: "He's in the thick of it and is one of the lads. He's genuinely liked and respected by his comrades and if people think flying an Apache in a war zone is privileged child's play they're on another planet.

"He's genuinely risking his life in a war zone because he loves the Army and his country."

The dangers the Prince is facing were brought into sharp focus last month when the Taliban launched a rocket attack on Camp Bastion, where the Prince is living, and killed two US Marines. The Taliban later said the Prince had been the intended target.

The missions being flown by the Prince typically involve providing "top cover" to British helicopters vulnerable to ground fire as they move troops or rescue the injured from the battlefield. British Chinooks and American Pedro helicopters are among the aircraft that benefit from such cover.

According to The Sun, the Prince carried out one mission in which he was responsible for protecting an aircraft rescuing a seriously wounded British soldier.

The Prince arrived in Afghanistan for his second tour of duty there at the beginning of last month. He had previously spent 10 weeks in Helmand working as a forward air controller in Afghanistan.